Embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to semantic searching, and more particularly, to identifying data objects representing a problem and solutions to the problem in different disciplines.
Research and development teams often need to solve problems in order to deliver innovative products and services to customers. Although it is possible to use search engines to search through a large amount of data to find a solution to a particular problem, such as using the Web, it is not possible to type into a search bar a description of a particular problem and for a search engine to find a solution to that problem. The reason being that key words used to define the problem often imply a limitation on a specific domain area, or a discipline, in which the problem is to be searched.
It is generally difficult to effectively identify a problem and generalize it into a problem statement. It is vital that the scope the problem statement is not specified too broadly or too narrowly in order to obtain a meaningful set of relevant results. Further, it is recognized that innovation often takes place at the intersection between two or more different disciplines. For example, car designers may have in common the quest to identify optimal shapes for cars. An optimal car shape is one which produces the minimum amount of turbulence and requires less energy to travel. Further, the optimal design must also have an appearance that is attractive to the consumers.
At the same time, a marine biologist who has studied various life forms in the sea may well understood how life forms have adapted to underwater conditions, such as the swimming of fish. The similar conditions in which fish swim may apply to the design of a car. For example, boxfish is known to have evolved its shape so that it requires less energy for the boxfish to move in the water. The evolved shape of the boxfish produces the minimum amount of drag in the water and has a low drag co-efficient, which is comparable to that of stream-lined airfoils in an aircraft.
There is thus a need for mechanisms to identify solutions to a particular problem based on disciplines different from the discipline of the problem.